Zakharchenko killed in local criminal feud or eliminated by Russian special services

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Chief of the self-proclaimed "Donetsk People's Republic" ("DPR) Alexander Zakharchenko has been killed in Russian-occupied Donetsk either as a result of criminal fights among militants, or liquidated by Russian special services, head of the staff at the SBU Ukrainian Security Service's chief Ihor Huskov has said.

"We have grounds to believe that Zakharchenko's death may be the result of internal criminal conflicts among militants, primarily related to the redistribution of assets that were illegally seized in 2014-2018. But we do not rule out attempts by Russian special services to also eliminate the notorious figure, who, according to our information, has been bothering Russians and has become the odd man today," he told Channel 112 on Friday evening.